The Friday Five
Who’s the rap mogul facing heat for selling protest-themed t-shirts?
Which folk rocker’s daughter spends her time with Occupy Toronto protesters?
What heavy metal band is reuniting for a tour and new album in 2012?
We’re halfway through November and the mercury’s falling, but one thing that’ll keep you warm is The Friday Five.
Metal from the mothballs
Black is back.
Sabbath, I mean.
Heavy metal’s first band announced last Friday that it would reunite its original line-up – Tony Iommi, Bill Ward, Geezer Butler and Ozzy Osbourne – to not only tour in 2012, but to record a brand new album, according to the UK’s Telegragh.
Word has it that Black Sabbath already has seven or eight tunes ready for recording and will get famed producer Rick Rubin to help out with the record.
If you’re an investor, I’d recommend buying stock in autotune technology and teleprompters – Ozzy’ll need them both to get through 2012.
Wyman is bored
RollingStone.com reports that former Rolling Stones bassist Bill Wyman has started hosting a three-part radio series about his favourite rock and blues musicians on Sirius XM Radio.
The series, which airs Thursdays on channel 70 in the United States, will focus on Chicago blues, early rock and roll and the music of the British Invasion.
And…that’s it.
No, really. He’s still not reuniting with the Stones or anything.
Gaga pissed…
Fetishists, take note:
Canoe.ca says pop superstar Lady Gaga admitted that it often takes her so long to get dressed in her elaborate stage costumes that she often pees in a dressing room dustbin.
“It would have been an interesting photo today because I had a big pink bow on, and I was over the trash can,” explained the Born This Way star to Alan Carr of England’s Chatty Man talk show. “The bathroom is down the hall, and I was naked. It was just me, my bow and my nakedness.
“Me and my dustbin have a very important relationship.”
So why hasn’t she worn a dustbin between her legs on-stage yet? She’s worn everything else.
Lightfoot treads through Occupy Toronto
Canadian folk star Gordon Lightfoot recently paid a visit to the Occupy Toronto encampment in the city’s St. James Park, but only to visit his seventeen year-old activist daughter.
Speaking to the Toronto Sun, Lightfoot admitted that he hoped something would come of the hard-to-explain demonstration.
“I can only hope that something of some sort can be accomplished from it but I don’t exactly know what that would be. I’m not really much into the political aspect of things.”
He’s still not dead, by the way. Just in case you were still confused.
Occupy More Space In The Bank
Speaking of the Occupy protest movement, rap artist Jay Z has come under fire for making money off of it.
The 99 Problems hitmaker added one more to his list by selling “Occupy All Streets” shirts through his Rocawear label and deciding to keep the profits instead of donating them to protestors actually occupying streets.
Fellow music mogul Russell Simmons came to his friend’s defense, explaining to Billboard Magazine that Jay Z is still furthering the cause even if he’s keeping the money.
“What’s wrong with selling goodness? There’s nothing wrong with it.”
Recognizing a profitable idea when he sees it, Simmons said, “I’m going to get every corporation that wants to support us to get branding as part of the process. No one’s against business. We’re against business having too much control over our government.”
Ask some of the people carrying placards. I bet they’d sing a different tune.
The Friday Five is a weekly staple of your online browsing diet at JasonWard.ca
Dear NBC Executives (& fans of good television):
Who’s the pop star that beat two heavy metal mainstays to the top of the Billboard charts this week?
Which wild-partying lead singer is turning Christmas crooner for the holidays?
